Students entering educational institutions, such as colleges or universities, typically have little or no experience handling money and can find the prospect of sticking to a budget daunting. It is probably the first time a student has lived on his or her own without a parent or guardian monitoring every activity. As exciting as the prospect of attending an educational institution such as a college or university is, this much freedom and opportunity can make budgeting particularly difficult. Having a budget under control means that a student needs to examine how money is spent. Not knowing exactly where money is going or where it will be spent is not an uncommon phenomenon, especially when automatic teller machines (ATMs) and credit cards can feel like free money to a student.
Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods for providing spending information and budgeting recommendations to a student of an educational institution.